Generally, an apparatus for staining a Mycobacterium tuberculosis slide is configured such that Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be visually detected by acid-fast staining of the slide having applied thereto a sample collected from a patient.
As disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1416966, this device for staining the Mycobacterium tuberculosis slide comprises: a staining unit provided in a staining apparatus body; a rotatable staining plate provided in the staining unit so as to be rotated by a motor; a staining nozzle disposed on the inner wall of the staining unit and configured to supply a dye solution to a slide disposed on the rotatable staining plate; a washing nozzle configured to supply a washing solution to the slide; a staining plate heater configured to heat the rotatable staining plate; a controller configured to control staining of a sample; and a staining operating unit enabling a user to input an operating signal into the controller.
The conventional apparatus for staining the Mycobacterium tuberculosis slide as described above is configured such that when the slide having the sample applied thereto is disposed on the rotatable staining plate and stained by operating the operating unit, the controller operates the staining heater provided in the rotatable staining plate to heat the slide to a certain temperature.
To the slide on which the sample had been heated as described above, a dye solution is applied through the staining nozzle to stain the slide. After completion of the staining, a washing solution is sprayed onto the slide.
However, the rotatable staining plate in the conventional apparatus for staining the Mycobacterium tuberculosis slide as described above is configured such that the staining heater provided on the rotatable staining plate heats the sample by heat conduction through the slide. Thus, the conventional apparatus has problems in that heating of the sample is time-consuming and the sample is dried and is not uniformly heated.
In addition, the conventional apparatus for staining the Mycobacterium tuberculosis slide has problems in that the dye solution remains in a slide mounting groove formed in the rotatable staining plate, is not clearly removed from the groove, and is mixed with a dye solution supplied, making clear staining impossible or causing contamination of the rotatable staining plate.